[1] Trade diversion: If tariffs trigger broader slowdown in US and global demand, Philippine exports -- electronics, garments and processed foods -- could suffer. Trump protectionist stance “could encourage more “Buy American” policies, making it harder for Philippine exports to compete in US market.
[2] Impact on BPO industry: Less direct but still significant. American companies might scale back spending, potentially reducing demand for PH call centers and IT services.
[3] Foreign investment uncertainty in Southeast Asia: Multinational companies might delay expansion plans. Which could undermine confidence in emerging markets in the Philippines.
[4] Pressure on prices and consumers: Tariffs are paid by US importers, not by foreign firms, and the costs are passed on to producers
and consumers.
[5] Full-scale trade war like in 1930s could disrupt global supply chains, and plunge the global economy into recession.
Question: How would the Philippines respond to the developing crisis? Not known yet. Government leaders may be distracted by election 2025 and preparations for election 2028.
[Source of data: University of the Philippines Center for Integrative & Development Studies]
PASSAGE
Asia’s Queen of Songs, Cebu’s own, Pilita Corrales, 85. People remember her ‘distinctive backbend’ when she sang.
PILITA CORRALES, less known as Maria del Pilar Garrido Corrales. died in Manila Saturday, April 13, 2025. The Filipino singer, 85, (billed as “Asia’s Queen of Songs” (135 albums) and “Greatest singer in the Philippines”), actress and comedian, listed Lahug, Cebu City as her place of birth. Honors she received for her art, craft and profession, in a career spanning 60 years, included a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Philippine Association of the Record Industry for “introducing Filipino musical artistry to a global audience “ and an honorary doctorate in music degree from Cebu’s University of the Visayas.
Pilita, with cause of death still not disclosed, is survived by children Jackielou Blanco and Ramon Christopher Gutierrez and granddaughter Janine Gutierrez. Cebuanos may lead a grateful nation to say, Pilita, “A Million Thanks to You.”
Sandra Cam, 64, whistle-blower who herself was detained for two years. Said sorry to Leila de Lima for supporting ex-senator’s lockup.
SANDRA CAM, 64, died Thursday, April 10, 2025, of still undisclosed cause. Cam made news headlines in in 2005 when she exposed the “inner workings” of the illegal “jueteng” numbers game and led the Philippine Whistleblowers Association of the Philippines, appearing in congressional hearings, and then joined as a board directors of PCSO, the sweepstakes office. In 2019, she was detained on a charge of frustrated murder filed by a Masbate town vice mayor.
After nearly two years in jail she was acquitted, then apologized to former senator Leila de Lima, “whose imprisonment she had once supported.”
Former senator Panfilo Lacson, who had worked with Sandra Cam in the Senate investigation into illegal gambling, said while in Cebu that he was saddened by her passing.
Death of “Bruno” “Garfield” mourned by CIT-U students. Investigation sought.